Brussels is seeking to recover around €2bn from the UK for failing to crack down on customs fraud over six years by Chinese clothing importers.
The European Commission sent a formal notice on Thursday that Britain infringed EU law and needs to pay customs duties that it failed to collect on undervalued textiles and footwear imported from China.
“Despite having been informed of the risks of fraud relating to the importation of textiles and footwear originating in the People’s Republic of China since 2007, and despite having been asked to take appropriate risk control measures, the UK failed to take action to prevent the fraud,” said the commission in a statement.